ESU alum and Hollywood actor to present Pflaum Lecture

August 22, 2011

What does it take to become a working actor today? Katie Amanda Keane, an ESU alum and Hollywood actor, will present her thoughts on the question when she presents the 2011 Pflaum Memorial Lecture.The lecture, presented at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2011, in R.Q. Frederickson Theatre in Roosevelt Hall on the ESU campus, is free to the public. During her time in Emporia, Keane will be a guest instructor in Dr. Jim Ryan’s acting class and teach a master class to ESU theater students at 4 p.m. Sept. 6.

A Topeka native, Keane began acting at age 11 when she was cast in a production of “Charlotte’s Web.” She has been active in stage productions, portraying Kate in “Taming of the Shrew” and Lady MacBeth in “MacBeth” at Shakespeare Orange County.

On the big screen, Keane’s work includes supporting roles in “Funny People” with Adam Sandler and Seth Rogan and the 2010 horror thriller “Hysteria.” On TV, Keane has had a regular role in “Ruby & the Rockits” on ABC Family and a recurring role on ABC’s “Eli Stone” as well as guest appearances in “NCIS” and “How I Met Your Mother” on CBS, “Prison Break” on Fox and most recently the July 18 episode of TNT’s “Rizzoli & Isles.”

Keane was Katie Johnson when she came to ESU in 1992 as a freshman. She earned her bachelor’s of fine arts degree from ESU in 1996 then headed to California where she earned a master of fine arts degree from California State University Long Beach.

The Pflaum Lecture is presented by the Department of Communication and Theatre and is supported by the Performing Arts Board. It is held annually to honor the memory of Dr. George R.R. Pflaum who came to Kansas State Teacher’s College in 1923 and served on the faculty for more than 40 years. Doc Pflaum was an active member of the Emporia community until his death in January 1977.

Emporia State University is a dynamic and progressive student-centered learning community that fosters student success through engagement in academic excellence, community and global involvement, and the pursuit of personal and professional fulfillment.